The Effects
by Carissa Faeky
Summary: Leslia is a stranger to Hogwarts.  She is plagued with multiple curses, all of which make life difficult.  Draco and Snape love a challenge, although, one challenges love and the other confusing magic.
1. Chapter 1

**Leslia(OC) and Draco Malfoy Fanfic**  
><span>Leslia<span>  
><span>Appearance:<span> Long, dark brown, wavy hair that falls in her face. On the short side of average height. Beautiful, but vulnerable looking. Green eyed with brown flecks.  
><span>Personality:<span> Quiet, non-confrontational, protective, intelligent. Loves to help, to the point of nearly killing herself. Can be sarcastic. Slightly clumsy.  
><span>Year:<span> Five. (Ages 15-16, generally)

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><p>"I heard she's hot."<p>

Draco glanced over the top of his Herbology book and listened to the whispered conversation of two fellow Slytherins.

"Hot or not, why is she in Slytherin? She's not even a real student, just a cast out from that all-girls school."

"If she's not a real student, why does Professor Snape seem to have an interest in her?"

"Who knows? Maybe she's a relative. Or a death eater, and he's been assigned to watch her. That would explain why she's so weird. With all of the He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named stuff going on, that wouldn't surprise me. Gosh, I wouldn't want Professor Snape to be my guard. One step wrong, and..." The student slid his finger across his throat.

"Oh, quit being dramatic. Professor Snape's not that bad."

"Oh, yeah? Why do you think my roommate disappeared after talking back to him in Potions class?"

"I heard he-"

Draco scowled. "Would you both shut up? This is a library, not a gossip hall. Your roommate managed to get himself kicked out for messing with the forbidden forest. Now, slink away, little imbeciles."

The two boys glared in his direction and moved out of his line of vision, continuing to talk as they meandered down the hall. Draco rolled his eyes and continued studying for the upcoming test. Chances were, that the so called "new girl" was merely a visitor, and not someone he had to think about.

He continued studying for the next few minutes until Crabbe and Goyle rushed through the door, shoving each other out of the way.

"What now?" Draco snapped.

"Prof. Snape wants you. He wanted Pansy, but she's in the infirmary, so he said that you'll have to do." The two idiots stumbled through their words, but Draco managed to figure out their general message.

"Did he say what it's about?" He asked. Crabbe shook his head.

"I-I think it's about that new girl," Goyle stuttered.

"Wow, I didn't know you could think," Draco said pointedly. "What new girl?"

"I dunno...I just saw Prof. Snape taking a git into his office."

Draco stood up, placed his book back on a shelf carelessly, and made for the door. "I might not be there for supper. If I'm not, one of you bring me some. And make sure it's still hot." He shut the door before they could answer.

He strode purposely through the halls, taking as many short cuts as he knew. He made it to Snape's office in record time and opened the door none to gently, startling the girl sitting near the severe professor.

"Ah, Draco. So glad you could make time out of your busy day to meet with me," drawled the professor.

Draco glanced up at the teacher, tearing his gaze off of the new girl. She seemed to be folding in on herself as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry, sir. Crabbe and Goyle-" He stopped himself from making excuses when Snape glared at him. He snapped to attention.

Professor Snape nodded briskly and motioned for the girl to stand up.

"This is Leslia. She is here under my protection. You are to show her to her room, which is next door to Daphne Greengrass. When you have done so, you are to report back to me immediately. Take as many back, empty paths as possible. Her being here is to be kept as quiet as possible."

"Sir, I heard some students talking about her long before I got here. Any possibility of anonymity she had is gone."

Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yes, sir. Apparently they're trying to decide if she's a relative of you, or if she's a death Eater whom you are guarding."

"Perhaps it is better that they make up their own explanations," Snape sighed, wrinkling his nose. "No matter. Leave." He gestured to the door, opening it with a flick of his wand. He motioned for Leslia to follow Draco, who was already in the doorway.

As soon as they were in the hallway, the door slammed shut behind them, and Draco heard the click of a lock snapping into place. He turned to the girl and gave her a once over with his eyes, trying to appraise what she was doing here from her appearance. No such luck. Snape had all ready given her a Hogwarts robe with Slytherin colors. He turned on his heel and walked briskly towards the girls dormitories. The girl stumbled in her haste to follow him and tripped over a cobblestone. Draco put out his hand to catch her, but she twisted away from his hand and righted herself. She glanced at him and down at her feet, avoiding his gaze.

"What's your problem? I was just trying to stop you from embarrassing yourself in the first five seconds you've met me. I'm Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy." He nodded slightly, as if she should know who he was. She stared past him, ignoring his greeting. "And you are...?" He prodded.

She shrugged, motioning for him to keep moving.

"Can't you talk, or are you just dumb? And by dumb, I mean stupid, not the other meaning," he complained loudly. She rolled her eyes and moved past him, careful not to brush up against him as she did so. He grabbed her wrist as she passed him, and she gasped silently as if in extreme pain. Her eyes rolled back in her skull, and she tore herself out of his loose grip, pulling so hard she fell down on the floor with a thump. She drew up her garment's sleeve, to view a bruise so dark it seemed black. Draco's mouth dropped open slightly as he realized that the bruise was an imprint from his hand.

"But I barely touched you!" He resisted the urge to help her, since he didn't want to risk hurting her again.  
>She rolled up her sleeves, showing off multiple bruises and burn marks.<p>

"Are those all from being touched?" She nodded. He didn't know whether to be impressed or horrified. "I hardly touched you!"

She nodded again.

"Is that part of the reason Snape wants you here?"

She shrugged, then nodded.

"You really can't talk, can you."

She shook her head.

"Y'know that's going to cause issues, right? What good is a wizard who can't cast spells? Did you used to be able to cast spells?"

She nodded emphatically.

"If you're touched by someone with their clothes, does that hurt, too? Or is it just when they grab you with their bare hands?"

She blinked at him.

"Right. Not a yes or no question. Sorry." He shrugged. "Lets get you to your room. I want to talk to Snape as soon as I can. Follow me."

He waited for Leslia to stand up, then sauntered up to a wall and pressed on a brick. A door swung open, and Draco motioned for her to follow him up a set of hidden stairs.

Leslia took everything in at once, paying attention to the smallest details. The way she saw it, one never knew when such things would be needed. She watched Draco warily, keeping at least an arms length away from him.

When they arrived at the room Snape had designated for her, he saw how far away from him she was standing. He rolled his eyes, beckoning her forward. "Look, I'm sorry for hurting you. I promise I won't touch you again. Quit looking like I'm going to murder you when you're sleeping. You're making me feel undesirable!" He opened the door and glanced inside the room before moving to the side of the doorway so Leslia could enter her new lodgings. She stepped inside and nodded to Draco as thanks for bringing her to her room. The room was virtually empty, holding only a dresser, mirror, bed, and radio. Draco waved as he left.

"Bye. You probably shouldn't wander around by yourself. You never know who or what's going on in here, and it's really easy to get lost. Since, y'know, the stairs and walls move." Her head jerked up in surprise. She glared at him, as if he was pulling her leg.

"Hey, I got nothing against you. I wouldn't tell you that to be mean. Of course, I could let you wander around. Maybe they'll find you before you're a rotting corpse. It's easier for the morticians to make you look pretty in a casket if the flesh is still there." Leslia fake gagged, and shooed him out of her room.


	2. Chapter 2

'Ello, you! Thanks for reading my Draco fanfiction. Here's the second chapter. Please, please, PLEASE review! Or critique, or compliment...Anything is good! Enjoy! :3

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><p>Draco sprinted back to Snape's office. He banged on the door and demanded to be let in.<p>

The door slowly opened to Snape's scrutinizing glare. "Took you long enough. What do you think of her? Sense anything?"

"Sense...?"

"Is there anything magically weird about her! Boy, you're not in Hogwarts to sit on your bum and learn nothing. Go! Speak!"

"Well," Draco shifted uncomfortably, "she bruises and burns from being touched, and she can't speak. But I learned that from being with her, not 'sensing' anything."

"Stupid boy. Can't you tell that she's been cursed? The amount of them she's acquired is quite impressive, other than the fact that now she can't do anything by herself to get rid of the things!" Snape waved his hands as emphasis.

"But, how'd she get so many curses attached to her?"

"If that information was available, don't you think I'd have fixed the problem already?"

"Can't you just use legilimency? I've heard that you are a Legilimens."

"I would have, if someone had not taught the girl a wordless occlumency. The git wants no one invading her brain, for any purpose," Snape shook his head. "At any rate, the girl needs to be watched. I don't think she would purposely harm anyone or anything around her, but with about seven curses on her we can't risk letting her have free run of the campus. Anyhow, since you are prefect, I'm ordering you to keep an eye on her. Miss Parkinson doesn't have the...patience for such objectives. It is not your job to get involved with any altercations between her and the other students unless they involve her curses. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Draco nodded. "But please, what is the next plan of action? You know she's going to go through #!*% , being neighbors with Daphne. It doesn't take much to make her get her claws out. Or, in her case, wand out."

"I'm sure Leslia will deal with it whichever way she deems best."  
>"And how is that?" Draco argued. "She can't talk, she can't protect herself against spells. She can't hide, since she doesn't know the layouts of Hogwarts."<p>

Snape gave him a pitying look. "You don't need to worry about her. Pretend she's not there, if it helps. I'll be working on removing her curses for the next few months, as there is not much else peaking my interest at this time."

"I thought Dumbledore was the best at removing curses?" Draco jumped as Snape's fist pounded a workbench, making the items on the bench shake.

"Insolent boy, Dumbledore needs not to be bothered with a simple matter as this. I can handle it, assuming you don't go making a scene. She shan't be here for long," he snapped. "If you see evidence of the other curses, you take that information to me, immediately. Understand?"

Draco slowly nodded and turned to leave, but Snape grabbed his shoulder. "Do not get involved. She's merely another girl. Treat her as such. I won't have the Malfoy family breathing down her neck. You or Lucius." He shoved Draco, making him stumble out the door as he slammed it behind him.

He rubbed his shoulder, which was imprinted with fingerprint shaped marks from Snape's hard grip. "As if I'd want to be involved any more than I have to with a half-wit git like that, who's stupid enough to collect so many harsh curses."

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><p>Leslia sank down on her bed the moment after Draco left. What had she been thinking, letting that mysterious man bring her to Hogwarts? Especially now is a bad time. She felt the urge to make a makeshift rope out of her bedsheets and climb out of the window to...to what? To another place where she is a stranger? Right. Smart idea, Leslia. She shook her head. Glancing at her disheveled appearence in the mirror, she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to undo the snarls. No such luck.<p>

"If only I had my brush. Not my clothes, I don't care about that so much. I just want my brush. _A_ brush," she thought unhappily. She spun around to the sound of many doors clattering open in the halls. She peeked her head out. Hearing mumblings about food, she made the decision to forgo a meal to try to get her bearings on her new lodgings. When the hall was clear, she slipped through her door and into the ornate hallway. Draco's words of caution rang in her head, telling her to not be dumb and wait for someone to give her directions or something.

She started moving in a slow jog, her eyes watchful for any movement. For the next hour or so, she wandered the grounds. She would be told later that she was lucky to not have run into Filtch, but for now, she did not know of him. Her mind wandered to Draco Malfoy, the strange boy, the one person she has had contact with who doesn't give her the mild creeps. Not that she thought Mr. Snape was a bad person, only...he was slightly cold, and gave off an offended air.

During her escapade, she found the first floor girls bathroom and met Myrtle, whom moaned so loud Leslia quickly left to explore somewhere more quiet. Hearing cheers and laughter near by, she passed the great hall and peeked in.

Smiling forlornly at the fun to be had inside, she jumped out of her skin to footsteps behind her. She took off running, not bothering to see who the footsteps belonged to. She ran blindly, hearing the footsteps give chase. There were at least two, maybe three sets of footsteps not counting her own. Her only possible sanctuary was her room, except she had made so many random turns in her desparate attempts to get away that she was lost. She stopped short as she ran into a dead end. She turned around to see a brown haired, spiteful faced girl and a blonde haired, sneering girl rounding the corner. Leslia backpedaled until she could feel the solid wall of bricks behind her scrape her back.

"Look what we caught, Daphne! A little spy," the brunette spat. "What did you think you were doing wearing Slytherin clothing, brat?" She reached out to snag the front of Leslia's robe with her fist, but Leslia dodged her grip. The brunette narrowed her eyes and grabbed for her again, but missed a second time.

Daphne sneered at Leslia. "She can't be much of a spy, she can't even make herself presentable. That would have been a better disguise."

Leslia glowered at Daphne, which made her laugh. "Look, Pansy! The little baby can't even talk! Should we make her squeal like the pig she is?" The two mean-spirited girls both reached for Leslia who ducked, prepared to bruise or burn.

"What's going on, here?" Draco appeared behind Pansy and Daphne, making all three girls jump. Leslia looked up to see the sign for the boy's bathroom swinging above. "Pansy, what's going on?"

"We caught a spy lurking outside the great hall!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung like a leech. Draco pushed her away, eyeing Leslia.

"I thought I told you to stay put. This is exactly why. Girls, this is no spy, she's our newest Slytherin. You should be welcoming her, not terrorizing her."

Pansy and Daphne eyed her with distain. Daphne turned on her heel, but not before muttering some bad name under her breath.

Pansy stayed put until Draco detached her arms from his neck and told her to go eat. As soon as she was out of sight, he turned to Leslia.

"What were you thinking? What would you have done if they'd grabbed you? They're not as...as understanding as I am. It's not like you can say anything to defend yourself! I told you to stay in your room! If you'd asked, I could have shown you around with fewer questions asked. Pansy and Daphne couldn't have said anything then, 'little spy'."

Leslia stuck out her lip in a stuborn pout and crossed her arms as emphisis of her ability, or lack of, to follow directions. Draco sighed and gestured for her to follow him.

"Come. Do you want to go eat, or go to your room?" He paused. "Hold up one finger for food, two for room."

Leslia considered her options for a moment, and held up two fingers. She didn't want to face others, quite yet.

"Will you actually stay there this time?" He asked gingerly. She grinned up at him cheekily. He sighed. "If I promise to show you to the great hall when it comes time for breakfast?"

She nodded slowly. After all, he did rescue her. Sort of.

"One more thing. Try not to get on the bad side of Pansy? She and her gang are more than happy to have a new person to bother. Okay?" He turned and began walking away, forcing Leslia to run to catch up with his long strides. It couldn't hurt to listen to his logic. At least, not this time. She was glad of the lock on her door, although she was unsure if the lock was useful against magic users. She would bear it. Whatever got thrown at her, she could take. She would take. After all, it's not like other wizards and witches haven't taken it upon themselves to make her life misery before. Now, she had the strength to win.

And, Draco was rather nice to look at.

Something to enjoy, at least.


	3. Chapter 3

So, here's chapter three. I know it's terribly short, but I've already started on chapter four. This seemed like the best place to end this chapter so I could tell the next part, which I promise will be longer. Cheers, loves! :3

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><p>Leslia woke in the morning to her stomach roaring it's fury at being left without food for too long. Groaning soundlessly, she worked the kinks out of her neck and stretched her back. She spun to face the sun streaming into the slightly dirty window. She frowned at her reflection in the mirror. She wanted a shower, ASAP. And a notebook, so she could have some sort of communication with her fellow housemates and professors. It was early, so she didn't think Draco would come calling for awhile yet. She stripped to her camisole and shorts. Sure she could beat whomever to the showers, she dashed out the door. She had seen some showers in her speedy adventure yesterday, and she intended to utilize them. She made it to the bathhouse and peered in. It was still dark in the room, meaning that it had to be empty. She meandered over to a bench and began to remove her top.<p>

"What the bloody- Why is a girl in here?"

Leslia spun, yanking down her cami back down over her taut stomach. Instead of trying to hide her chest from the boy's view, she tried to cover the bruises clearly seen on her arms. She glared darkly at the boy.

"Hey, don't get mad at me! I'm not the one snooping in the lads bathroom. You should be glad that I'm not someone else, otherwise I might have attacked you. Your lack of clothing is very obvious. Hey," the boy walked closer to Leslia, staring her down. "You're that girl Draco was talking to me about. The one who can't be touched, and can't talk. Right?"

Leslia didn't move, but continued to glare.

"Yep. You have to be her. You're just as stubborn as he said. He calls you 'Little Spy,' did you know?" He laughed. "How rude I've been. I'm Blaise Zabini. Pleasure to meet you, love. Would you like me to show you where the ladies showers really are? I wouldn't want you give some other poor lad a heart attack by showing up here in your skivvies."

Hesitating, Leslia wondered if all of the boys at Hogwarts were as strange as the two she'd met. When she nodded at last, Blaise grinned cheekily.

Handing her his Slytherin robe, he whispered in her ear. "I should hope you don't run around like that all the time. Your shirt, it's...transparent." He dodged when she threw an abandoned bar of soap at him. He waggled his fingers at her and stood in the doorway until she put on his robe and followed him. He led her to the correct bathhouse and handed her a comb.

"I'll give you this if you promise to give me back my robe back when you have your own on." he held out the comb like a peace offering. She snatched the comb out of his hand, managing to do it without touching him. Nodding vigorously in agreement, she bowed her thanks. Blaise tipped his imaginary top hat and left.

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><p>After showering, Leslia took a luxurious amount of time combing her hair, making sure each and every snarl was out. She hustled back to her room and changed into her own robe, folding Blaise's neatly. She'd find him at breakfast, if he was indeed Draco's friend.<p>

She turned on the radio and tuned it to a good song before flopping onto her bed to wait for Draco to take her to the great hall. It had been around ten minutes of waiting when the song 'Iris' by the muggle band 'The Goo Goo Dolls' came on. She couldn't help it. She had to dance. It was in her blood, as her grandma and mother had both danced for royalty.

Or so she was told, as both of them had been killed in the fire that had wiped out most of her family when she was three. Her father had raised her the best he could until he drowned during a storm. She couldn't go into a pool or lake ever since.

She danced gracefully and skillfully. Dancing was one of the times she felt truly in her element. Her hair fluttered in the air like so many shiny ribbons, spinning away any lingering drops of moisture from her shower out of her hair. Finally the song ended, and she slowed to a stop, feeling the happiest she had felt since Professor Snape had found her half dead a few days ago. She started at the sound of clapping coming from her doorway. Draco was watching her lazily, with a smirk on his handsome face. She blushed and stared at her feet.

"Why," she thought, "Am I blushing like a maid caught doing something naughty?"

Draco rolled his neck, cracking it and beckoned her forward.

"Guess what? I've got a surprise for you. Follow me to Snape's, then I'll take you to breakfast."

She nodded and quickly followed, sometimes even racing ahead. Draco chuckled, and still managed to beat her to Professor Snape's office. He held the door open for her, and bowed. "Ladies first."

Leslia strode past him with a jokingly prim and proper look on her face. She stopped short when she caught Snape's stern glare. He held something in his hands. She turned to Draco.

"Go on, drink it!"

She eyed the smoking liquid dubiously before turning back to Draco with a whithering look. He sighed.

"It's the first part to curing you," Professor Snape growled. "Drink it, or leave and stop wasting my time."

"It's to remove the first layer of your curses," Draco explained. "The first one is the one that bruises you when you're touched. Once that's gone, you can protect yourself, at least physically."

Leslia snatched the putrid potion out of the professor's hands, nearly spilling it.

"Careful!" Snape snapped.

She ignored him and chugged the potion, her eyes showing that the drink tasted as bad as it appeared. When the drink was gone, she gagged; the potion threatening to come back up.

"It must stay down. Otherwise it will be useless and I'll have to make another which you will drink. Make it stay down."

She forced the vile liquid down and coughed.

"Good girl," Draco applauded. Snape harrumphed and handed Leslia a stick of what appeared to be charcoal.

"Here."

She looked at him questioningly.

"Write in the air with this, like the air is a sheet of paper. The words will linger in the air for a few seconds. The stick should last you until you can talk again. Don't worry about the mess. It's not real charcoal, so even if it is put in your clothes, it won't mark them. Or your hands, for that matter."

"The potion should be taking effect now. Try touching Malfoy."

Leslia turned to the blond and hesitantly reached up and poked his cheek. When it didn't burn, she stroked his cheek with her palm and smiled. The gentle touch sent a shiver through Draco's body and he grabbed her wrist, moving it away from his face.

"Well! It's obvious that the potion worked. Um, we don't want to be late for breakfast, so I'll be taking her to the Great Hall now, then. Thanks professor," Malfoy stumbled over his words in his haste to get them out.

Leslia smiled at Snape and wrote "thanks" in the air with his present to her.

He nodded briskly and turned around, facing is work desk. "The next cure should be ready in under a week. Come see me then. No sooner. I don't need any more brats underfoot than there already are."

"Yes, sir!" Draco ushered Leslia out in front of him. "Time to eat. I think the creatures of the forest can hear your stomach rumbling from here. I'll introduce you to some rather interesting blokes. I'm guessing you don't really want to sit beside Pansy and Daphne."

"Good guess," she wrote.

He laughed and held open the door for her. All the clamor and noise from the students ceased as they caught a glimpse of Leslia. She tried to duck her head to hide what she knew they saw. They saw a short-ish brunette desperately in need of a haircut with obviously posh boy, Draco Malfoy. Draco ignored them all and ushered her to what appeared to be the Slytherin table. Blaise waved and pointed to two empty spots next to him and across from Goyle and Crabbe. Draco pushed her down into the spot next to Zabini and plunked down next to her.

"Leslia, this is Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. They're some of your new housemates. Lads, this is Leslia. Crabbe, shut your gob. You're going to eat more bugs than usual." As Crabbe closed his mouth, it seemed that everyone started talking again all at once.

"We've met."

"So, you're real?"

"What'd you do to piss off Snape?"

"You don't look that smart. Why'd you get put in Slytherin? I'm sure the Hufflepuffs could use some more dimwits."

The last statement came from Pansy, irritated that the new girl had the attention of the whole student body. Worse, she was in the spot next to Draco.

Leslia was overwhelmed at the sight of students craning their heads to get a look at the new girl.

"So, did they fix you?"

Startled, Leslia turned to a smiling Blaise.

Taking out her stick, she air-wrote, "Sort of. I can be touched without being in pain, now. I still can't talk, but I'm sure there'll be enough people coming up with stories about me that I won't have to."

Blaise laughed knowingly. "Don't worry about it. Soon enough people will stop gawking and move on. Unless, of course, you're Harry Potter. He keeps finding ways to make people talk. Him being the only Voldemort survivor and all. Not that it matters. You won't be around him much at all."

Leslia nodded and grabbed a sweet bun from the table in front of her. Beauxbatons never had any meals like this! That would be a festival time's amount of food. She snatched a candied walnut from a dish and popped in her mouth to munch. Turning her head slightly, she caught Draco staring at her oddly. He quickly went back to looking at his food when he noticed he'd been caught. Leslia shrugged and went to grab another nut. She was struck with a dizzying amount of voices cascading into her ears all at once, talking about nonsense, war plans, lovers, homework, spells, and curses. Draco grabbed her one shoulder while Blaise steadied her other as she swayed in pain. With a pop, she was released from the voices so suddenly she collapsed in relief against Blaise. She was breathing hard and flushed, as though she had just come out of a fever.

"What in bloody 'ell just happened?"


	4. Chapter 4

Yay, the fourth chapter is finally here! I hope y'all enjoy it! It took me longer than the rest, since school started. Instead of updating every week, this story will be updated every one and a half to two weeks. Sorry for the delays!

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><p>Leslia woke with a splitting headache, and the strangest feeling that she was being carried. She forced open her eyes and winced in the light. When her eyes adjusted, she peered up at her kidnapper. Blaise's face stared straight ahead until she wiggled in his grasp. He came to a stop.<p>

"Morning, love. Why'd you decide to pass out on us, if you don't mind my asking? I assumed you'd rather not draw attention to yourself, but too late now!"

Leslia fumbled getting her stick out of her pocket but dropped it with a clack. Blaise adjusted his grip, bent down, and grabbed it off the floor. Handing it to her, his hand lifted her head higher so she wouldn't fall down. When she struggled, he flipped her over his shoulder and carried her like a sack of potatoes down the stairs. She pounded on his back, soundlessly demanding to be set down. Blaise merely laughed.

"I can't set you down yet, love. You might fall again, and who wants that?" He patted her petite bottom. "You really need to learn how to not make people worry about you. I don't know how they do it where you're from, but here we try to figure things out."

Leslia slammed her palm on the back of his head, trying to jar him into letting go. He tripped, which would have made for a fairly awkward landing had Draco not been there. He smoothly snatched Leslia from midair, letting Blaise land on his face. Flipping her over his shoulder, he offered Blaise a hand up.

"Thanks, man. Appreciate the catch."

"I know. What've you done if you'd landed on her? You'd have felt so bad about dropping her, right?" Draco grinned sarcastically.

"Of course, of course. Hey, you had to talk to Snape, right? I'll just take her back so you can do it." He gestured to Leslia.

"Why, you gracious boy. Thanks for the offer, but I've finished my chat with the Professor. So, you can go finish your breakfast while I take Leslia to the nurses," Draco glared meaningfully at him.

"Oh, the nurses? I shall go there as well! It seems I injured myself when I fell. Great idea, old chap!" A spark passed between the two boys, and they stood immobile as Leslia grew more and more uncomfortable. At last, she wrenched herself from Draco's grip and tried to escape before an argument erupted from the tempers of the lads. Simultaneously, each boy grabbed a wrist before she could leave.

She spun around and whipped out a fierce glare at both of them before writing, "I don't know what your problem is. You two are the weirdest friends I've ever seen, fighting over stupid stuff. I can get myself to the nurse, thank-you-very-much. I'm not paralyzed!"

"Do you know where the infirmary is?" Draco regarded her curiously.

She hesitated, "I'll find it myself. If anything, your bickering will make it worse."

"If we stop," sheepishly asked Blaise, "can we bring you there? We _are_ worried about you, love."

She considered it, trying to appear as though she had to think really hard if she wanted to deal with these boys. After making them sweat for a minute, she replied, "Sure. No more fighting or whatever you call it."

"Jealousy?" Blaise smirked.

"What?"

"You asked what we'd call it. Draco is jealous that I carried you thus far. He probably thought it was romantic of you to collapse onto my lap." He grinned evilly at Draco. "He can keep on being jealous all he likes, but-." Draco clamped a hand over Blaise's mouth and steered him in the direction of the infirmary. Returning to wrap an arm around Leslia's waist, he moved her quickly past Blaise, almost at a jog until Leslia dug her nails into his hand. He let go and she raised an eyebrow.

He looked away. "Sorry."

"Y'know what? I'm just going to find Snape. Neither of you are allowed to come with me. Get lost," she wrote, her emotions showing blatantly on her face.

She stomped away, heading for- for where? She had to get a map. Or an unbiased guide. Neither of which she currently had. Spinning around, she gripped both boys by their collars and forced them to walk in front of her. "Walk."

Her cheeks were red, whether from the realization of what jealousy from Draco meant, or from anger at their stupidity. As they frog marched through the hall, they got odd looks from their classmates who'd missed breakfast. Leslia ignored any and all distractions, intent upon her goal of reaching the infirmary without any more altercations.

When they arrived at the infirmary, Snape was awaiting their arrival. Blaise and Draco tried to follow Leslia into the room, but Snape jerked a stiff wave of dismissal.

The boys began protesting, insisting that they had a right to be in the room.

"If you do not quit pestering me- or Leslia, for that matter- I will personally make sure Dr. Moody turns you into a pair of moony weasels," Snape snapped.

The boys scattered, slamming the door behind them as they beat a swift retreat.

Leslia and Snape stared at each other for a moment before each reaching for one of the double door's doorknobs and yanked them open.

Draco and Blaise tumbled to the floor, obviously guilty of attempted eavesdropping. They stood up quickly, brushing themselves off. Blaise, being slightly slower than Draco was unable to dodge the energy bolt Snape sent at his rear. Yelping, they took off at a run, trying to avoid any more burnt flesh.

When Snape was sure they were alone, he turned to Leslia. "I gave you the stick for a reason. Use it to tell me what the heck just happened. You managed to not obey my orders of staying relatively away from the public eye. The whole of Hogwarts knows that there's a new Slytherin, and the rumor-mill is going haywire with all the possibilities. They don't know if you're a cursed muggle, a death eater gone wrong, or, God forbid, my long lost child. What happened to staying under the radar?"

She started to write, but Snape waved away her words.

"What happened to you in the cafeteria? Draco informed me that you seemed to be in extreme pain before passing out," he paused, considering his words. "It is impossible that my potion didn't work, so why are you in pain? Is it another curse, or is your condition worse than I expected?"

Leslia's mind was working furiously, trying to decide whether to say that she merely passed out from anemia or if she should trust the man who saved her. On the other hand, by telling him, he could be in more danger than he could deal with. She didn't want his cadaver on her conscience.

"I may not be able to read your mind, but I'm extremely gifted in the category of reading micro expressions. Do not test my patience, girl. Tell me what really happened. I'm respecting your wishes of not cracking into your brain to figure out who, or what, put you in such a state, "but I'm not beyond breaking your trust to gain information if I deem the situation dangerous. If you won't inform me, I may have to dig without your permission. I'm assuming you don't want that."

She sighed. "I still won't tell you everything. I will solve my…my issue on my own time. As soon as I can talk.

"As well as I can tell, the mishap in the lunchroom was the product of hearing multiple conversations from people across the country-maybe the world- all at once. They were discussing things ranging from the common, like gillyweed root prices, to the extreme, like how to cast Avada Kedavra." She held up her hand to stop Snape from asking any questions.

"Before you ask, no, I can't tell who was teaching the last one. I know it's an unforgivable curse. I only heard snatches of each conversation, it's not like I could latch on to any specific one. If it happens again, I'll try to limit the hearing to one conversation. Keyword-try. Without talking, I can't even spell myself to control an ant."

"I highly doubt controlling an ant would be useful."

"It was an example."

"No matter. The next curse I'm working on is your inability to speak, as that is the next layer. You'll have to deal with the 'speakings', as your voices are called, until later. Are you all right for now?"

Leslia nodded.

"You understand, yes, that getting involved with anyone at Hogwarts is a bad idea. Especially Malfoy. His family is rather…" Snape searched for the correct word, "_Difficult_ to deal with. Especially Draco's parents."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Worse than what I've been through? I think parents are the least of my worries, unless they're the ones who tried to kill my squad." She tried to scratch out the last part, not wanting to give Snape anything he didn't need.

"Speaking of which, did you see how many attacked you, or your…"

"Five…maybe six?"

"How many were in your group?"

"Group?" She gave her best innocent face.

"Don't mess with me, girl," Snape warned.

She shifted her weight and, looking at her feet replied, "Seven. Not counting me."

"Were the attackers full wizards, or were they students?"

"Adults. One was a shapeshifter. All but one was male. I noticed nothing else," she looked away, her jaw set in stubbornness.

Snape looked at her with a hard glint in his eye.

"I said I didn't. You'll get nothing more out of me."

Frowning, Snape replied, "You realize that if you do know the attackers, you could be freed of the curses if they were caught?"

"I understand. Unfortunately for you, it's my business. If, or when, I decide I can't deal with the issues myself, then I may call upon you. I would greatly appreciate your help in my regaining my speech. Other than that…" She shrugged.

"You're very prickly."

"Noted."

A small smile played around the edges of his lips as he looked at her in approval.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe your friends are waiting for your return. I trust you shall tell them nothing of our conversation?" He swept regally out of the room.

Leslia stepped hesitantly out the door and peered around the edges. No boys lying in wait to ambush her with questions and stupidity. Good. She slipped around the corner and down the hall a ways. Just when she thought she was in the clear, she nearly ran nose-first into Draco.

"Hey."

She stared up at him with utter disinterest. She really wanted a nap. Talking with Snape as an intellectual equal made her sleepy.

"How're you feeling?"

She gave him a fake grin and a cheesy thumbs up.

"No need to be snide!" He paused. Peering behind her. "Blaise didn't find you first?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. Stepping around him, ready to make her escape, she nearly tripped over a cat.

Glancing down as Draco steadied her, her eyes grew large. She dropped to the floor, too quickly for Draco to try to grab her. He watched in amazement as she nearly choked the cat in her excitement. The cat was a beautiful ragdoll specimen with grey markings on its face, dark grey ears, and stunning blue eyes.

"Your familiar, I assume?" He queried.

She ignored him until the cat freed itself of her affection. As it leaped gracefully to her shoulder, she replied distractedly, "Persephone chose me, if that's what you mean. She's looked after me since I was sent to Beauxbatons. She's kind of special." She smiled.

"Special because…?"

"Because Perse chooses to talk to me, like, mind to mind. I don't know if she's really a cat or a higher being, but it's pretty neat."

"Are you sure you're not crazy? First you hear voices, now you converse with your cat?"

She glared at him. Persephone leaped the chasm between her body and his in a single bound and sat on his head. Leslia giggled silently as Draco spun around, trying to dislodge the cat. Finally, when she chose to, she leapt free of Draco's hair and landed back on Leslia's shoulders. Draco muttered something about cat stew before ruffling the cat's fur, making her start to purr.

Leslia closed her eyes in contentment. Life was great. No one was making her out to be a practice dummy for fighting spells, or dumping her books in the toilet. People were actually trying to help her. Best of all, Perse was back- she hadn't seen her since she left her back in the dormitory at Beauxbatons. She'd have begun to purr herself if she hadn't been in front of a very lush boy.

"Why Persephone?"

She opened her eyes, confused. He was expectantly waiting for her to answer.

"What do you mean?"

"Why'd you name her Persephone- after the Goddess of the Underworld?"

"She told me her name when we met. Otherwise, that would have been a sick joke on my end."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

Draco ran his hand lightly over Persephone's back and flicked her tail. She meowed mournfully and Draco smiled. His hand slipped lower until it was brushing Leslia's face. As if in a trance, he leaned closer, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. She froze, unsure of how she was supposed to react. There weren't exactly very many males where she came from, and definitely not attractive ones who made her heart do weird flippy things by just smiling.

"You have beautiful eyes, did you know?" He murmured.

She swallowed hard. She'd always been told she had her mother's eyes, so she treasured them. Snape's warning to avoid becoming involved with anyone at Hogwarts rang in the back of her mind, but she ignored it for the time being.

She had better things to concentrate on, like a blond male nearly touching her forehead with his.

Suddenly, Draco's head jerked backwards. She jumped in surprise, released of the spell she'd been under with his gentle touch.

"Getting a head start, are we?" Blaise asked savagely. "Now, now, freezing me in the closet was a novel idea. Except that you were in such a rush you did it poorly, you dunce. Shame. It was so sad having to interrupt your little shindig."

Draco yanked his head out of Blaise's hands and scowled, blushing. "What're you talking about? We were only talking!"

The three teens, two blushing and one irate, were so engrossed in their arguing that they didn't notice a certain Miss Parkinson spying on them from the doorway of the girl's bathroom. If this hadn't been real life, there'd have been steam coming out of her ears. The thoughts running through her mind were merely the beginning of Leslia's problems. Soon Leslia'd have no time to relax as she does now.

Dumbledore watched the events unfolding from his office and shook his head. "I had hoped that Mr. Potter would be the extent of our issues. It seems we have a new contender for who attracts the most danger. Good luck, young ones."


	5. Chapter 5

So, my lovely readers! I've been writing like a madwoman for the last day and managed to write another chapter and a half, so you get this chapter early, and I may have another done before the weekend is over! I'm always glad for reviews, criiques, and compliments. Hope you enjoy! Also. I have a special treat for you lot this week. My artist friend Rose drew a picture of Draco and Leslia before she got her hair cut from Ginny. Here's the link to view! I love you all. :3 .com/albums/m504/GoniUchiha/?action=view¤t=

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><p>Over the next few weeks, Leslia's friendship with Draco and Blaise grew, and she gained her first female friends- Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. Ginny and Leslia had become fast friends when she caught Leslia trying to give herself a haircut in the girls' bathroom during a fit of rage because her hair was always in her face.<p>

Ginny had stopped her from mangling her poor hair any further and offered to cut it for her. She confided that in her house money was tight, so they were used to giving each other haircuts rather than going to the barber. She snuck the scissors out of Leslia's hand and proceeded to give her thick brown waves an adorable, layered cut. Instead of flowing in a single mass down her back, her hair fell in long, feathery layers to her shoulder blades and her bangs framed her face, giving an innocent look to her already innocent face.

"You need to show off your face, not hide behind it!" Ginny admonished her.

Meeting Hermione was a different story. The two had met each other at a Quidditch match, Leslia cheering for Slytherin. Rather, she was cheering for Draco. Hermione was cheering for Gryffindor. Obviously, the two glared at each other from time to time, when the enemy team scored. After a while, Harry and Draco were off seeking the snitch outside the court and Hermione used the opportunity to introduce herself to Leslia.

Sticking out her hand, she spoke formally. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. I'm the Gryffindor prefect. And you are…?"

"Leslia, um, newbie Slytherin?" Leslia wrote with her left hand and shook Hermione's hand with her right.

"You don't look mean or conniving…Why are you in the snake's den?" She pointed out.

"Hey," she protested, "we're not all like that. I mean, mostly they are, but Blaise and Draco are pleasant. Even interesting, at times." She smiled.

"Draco? Nice? That's a new one." She huffed.

"He's ambitious, I'll admit. But nice is one of his 'nicer' traits."

"Which Draco are you talking about? The slime ball, daddy's boy, and idiot coward one in Slytherin, or a completely different one? I don't think nice is in his vocabulary. Unless he's drastically changed since I last had the pleasure of conversing with him…" She trailed off as the two boys returned.

"Maybe he's only nice to the people who interest him?" Leslia retorted.

Harry Potter came out on top this game, catching the snitch and winning the game for Gryffindor. Everyone in Slytherin groaned except Leslia and a few others. Hermione was about to congratulate Harry at the edge of the stand when she was jostled and fell over the edge of the stands with a scream.

Leslia's reflexes made her dive for Hermione, as though she saw it about to happen. She would have gone over the edge too, but her foot caught in the bars as she was grasping for Hermione's wrist. Her mouth opened in silent pain as the bone cracked under the pressure. Tightening her grip on Hermione, she yanked her upwards as a flash of yellow flew over them.

Draco did a speedy landing, nearly crushing more than a few game-goers. He tried to pull Leslia up, but Blaise stopped him.

"If you pull her up first, you'll put her ankle under more strain. I'll balance her while you pull up Granger."

Draco, about to pull Hermione up, grabbed for Leslia instead when Harry positioned himself under Hermione to pull her onto his broom.

Detangling her ankle from the bar, he pulled Leslia onto his lap. Tears were pooling in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

"Stoic as always, I see," Draco murmured. "Let's get you to the nurses."

He helped her to her feet, balancing her arm around his shoulders for support as she hobbled through the stands. Everyone had gone silent when Hermione had screamed but now a single person started to applaud. Then a second, a third, a fourth until the whole group of Quidditch fans were roaring with cheers and applause. Even the professors were nodding their heads in approval. Leslia hid her face in Draco's robe and blushed as they kept walking.

Ever since that day, Hermione seemed to enjoy talking to her. As long as no one brought up Draco, she could ignore that Leslia was Slytherin. So Leslia gained a second friend, at the low cost of a broken ankle.

Before Hermione fell, Leslia a spiteful brunette- Pansy- somewhere near the edge of the stands and Hermione. If Pansy didn't push her herself, Leslia was sure she'd spelled the stands to make her fall. Neither Pansy or Leslia had talked to the other since the first day when Pansy nearly tried to terrorize Leslia. Since then, Leslia was always feeling Pansy's glare on the back of her neck in the halls and classrooms. Somehow, small inconveniences to her seemed to happen when Pansy was around. But trying to purposely hurt Hermione for no seemingly good reason is past the point of tolerance. She may not have any proof, but she knew in her gut. Her gut would do her no good in an argument. She had to figure out what happened. If any, this was the day to try to talk to her about it. She still couldn't talk, and no more cures had been found, but this couldn't wait. She didn't even tell Hermione or Ginny about her suspicions so they couldn't try to stop her. No one messes with her friends in such a mean way.

She entered the dormitory, unsure of what to expect. She'd asked around and found that at night Pansy stayed in the dormitory while the rest of the students went to the library to study.

When she entered the room, it was so quiet Leslia thought she'd been misinformed. She wandered over to look out the window at the silent moon. Feeling philosophic, she started thinking about what the moon represents. It's a silent watcher, seeing everything, hearing everything, yet unable or unwilling to do anything about it. It was reminding her more and more about what her life at Beauxbatons was like. She was the scape goat and the charity kid. When her father died during her first year at Beauxbatons, the school board decided that she could stay on as the resident orphan.

Curse them for their egos. They just wanted to seem like saints so they could go home feeling like they'd done their good deed for the week. Starting to sink back into a funk, she jumped as Pansy slammed the door closed behind her as she walked in.

Not hesitating to get into her face, she shoved Leslia and shook her. "What the hell are you doing in my room? Spying again, git? I guess your Mummy didn't teach you that spying goes against good manners!" Leslia jumped and spun around as lightning flashed. The sky'd been so clear only a moment ago. What changed?

"I'm talking to you, you trollop! Having Draco fawn over you isn't enough; you've got to disrespect my privacy too?" She smacked her across the face.

"Maybe I should teach you a lesson," she smirked slyly. "Or, wait! I know. Tell you what. If you promise to stay away from Draco, I won't spell you into oblivion. How about that?"

Leslia shook her head, about to write how she couldn't stay away- Draco was her guide- Pansy took her head shake as disagreement and pointed her wand at her.

"I warned you!" Her voice had raised three octaves, causing Leslia to cringe in slight pain. "Mobilicorpus!"

Leslia felt her body lift into the air without her consent and began struggling but to no avail. Her talking stick fell to the ground. Mentally, she contacted Persephone. "Perse. Trouble. Pansy. Bring Draco! Hurry."

Pansy flicked her wand, sending Leslia hurtling back into the wall. Flipping her wrist, she repeated the gesture a second time with more power. Too much power. Leslia hit the window and went through, gritting her teeth as the shards of glass stabbed her as she flew through the air and into the storm. The air crackled with lightning as she fell from the high window towards the raging lake below. She hated water.

Her mind flipped through the images of her past, focusing on the night the last of her family died. The storm had been a spell gone wrong, and her Da had paid dearly for it. He'd overestimated himself and his ability. It was the women in the family that were strong, and yet they had died first. The poor man had started going mad the day his mother, his wife, his son, and his mother-in-law had died in the blaze that destroyed half a village.

They'd died when Leslia was nine-her mother sent her on an errand, and when she returned, the blaze was visible from miles around. Her Da had been on a mission for the nobles and wasn't informed of the incident until weeks later. Since then, he'd been obsessed with water magic. His intentions were good- he wanted to protect other families from blazes like the one his family had died in.

He'd told Leslia that he'd finally perfected the way to bring water down harshly onto a specific plane without physical damage to the spell caster's body. He'd taken her out on a rowboat into the middle of their nearby lake and unrolled the spell scroll. The day was beautiful- not a cloud in the sky and the fish were plentiful as they leapt through the air. Leslia'd spotted a golden eagle high above the waters, trolling the lake for one of the fish so she could feed her nestlings.

As he finished casting the spell, nothing happened. Her father grew angry and tossed the spell into the waters. As soon as the spell touched the lake, chaos ensued. It was nearly immediate that heavy thunderheads brewed over the lake and threw lightning towards their boat. Leslia leapt from the boat just as it hit the wood. She smelled charred wood and burning flesh. Her father was screaming at the heavens, raging over the failure. He seemed blind to his surroundings. Leslia had shrieked at him to abandon the boat and swim with her, but it was too late. A huge wave overturned the bed of charred wood her father stood on and dragged him down.

She no longer could see her father's face. As suddenly as it started, the storm ended and the lake was calm. She knew her father was gone. She was an orphan. A board from the boat slammed into the side of her head, knocking her out. Her last waking thought was that she wouldn't be able to dance again at the bottom of a lake. It made her sad.

She had awakened in a sweat, gasping for breath. She was informed that a white haired traveler had spotted the storm and rescued her from the lake. He'd also pulled her father from the rocky depths. She'd cried over his body, refusing to see her rescuer before he'd left to continue on his way. She still didn't know who he was. For a while, she'd been angry at this traveler. If he'd seen what was happening, why couldn't he have saved her father, too? And why'd he saved her, if he knew that being an orphan was almost worse than being dead? At least dead she'd be able to see her family again. Over time, she shoved these memories to the back of her mind. She hadn't been back to the village since, and she still couldn't swim.

Her bloodied body hitting the water shocked her out of her flashback enough for her to gasp for breath. She began to panic. Lightning was striking all around her. It was nighttime, and with the clouds covering the moon, any hope for light was lost. She tried to tread water, but succeeded in only filling her mouth with water and choking. Once in a while the lightning would light up a boulder, and she would reach for it but be tossed back into the middle. She was drifting further into the lake. She was going to die, and it was going to be by electrocution or drowning. Great.

She thought she might have heard Draco yell her name, but the storm was too loud for her to tell. She hoped that her death would at least shock Pansy into being nicer.


	6. Chapter 6

Oh, no! Whatever is going to happen to Leslia! :3 Please review, comment, critique, compliment, add to alerts, and add to favorites! Thanks, y'all!

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><p>Oooh, it's come to my attention that the link I provided in the last chapter didn't work. So I shall try again. I apologize for the inconvenience! Instead of a link, please go to photobucket, search goniuchiha as a keyword. That is the username where the picture is placed. There's only one picture in the account. That's the one!<p>

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><p>Draco busted into the girls dorm, Perse close behind him.<p>

"What the hell, Pansy?" He screamed at her. She cowered away from the broken window, water and wind streaming though.

"She- I- I didn't- the spell shouldn't have been that powerful! It's not my fault! It's not my fault!" She broke down and started to cry.

Draco shoved her aside and searched the dark water for any sign of Leslia. Just when he thought he'd spotted her, the lightning would subside so she couldn't be seen.

"Leslia!" He called her name, but the winds carried it away. He growled and stripped off his shoes.

"What- what're you doing?" Pansy stuttered. "You can't seriously go in after her. You'll die, too! No one's supposed to be out in this!"

"A little bloody late for that, now that you've sent her out into the bloody lake!" He dove through the open window towards the lake below. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind- some questioning his sanity, others questioning his pride.

"Lumos!" He lit up is wand and waved the light around to see. The waves covered everything, making it virtually impossible to see. He plunged through the water, swimming in all directions, trying to see everywhere at once. He spotted what looked like Leslia's hair bobbing at the crest of a wave, but realized that it was seaweed.

He called her name again. Not that it would matter, he admonished himself. It's not like she could answer back. He dove under the water, shining his magical light everywhere. It was dimming, as was his strength. He drove himself onwards, determined to save her. He caught a glimpse of a robe behind a boulder and he swam faster.

He snatched the clothing and pulled it towards him. It unraveled to reveal Leslia's very blue face. He breathed into her mouth with the last bit of breath he had in him and yanked her upwards with him. He fought to the surface, gasping for breath. He took her pulse to see if she was still alive. She was, but only barely; her heart was barely pumping. He shook her, trying to wake her up. Finally, he slapped her face, trying to bring her around. No response. Draco cursed and held her up by her shoulders with one arm while clutching his wand with the other.

Coughing as another wave crashed over them, Draco set out for land. Every few seconds lightning would light up a small inlet, and thus lit up the sandy land it rested between. He threw her onto the beach before dragging himself out of the water. He shone the light around and spotted a cave. Checking it over for signs that it was an animal's home, he found some dried wood he could use for a fire. Draco carried Leslia into the cave and rechecked her pulse. It was even lower than when he'd found her.

Wondering if there was water in her lungs, he pressed on her chest, trying to pound the water out of her. She coughed up murky gunk along with a cup of lake water. Trying not to gag, Draco set about starting the fire. He stripped off his robe and Leslia's robe. Not wanting to offend her by taking any more of her clothes off, he stripped to his shorts and hung the damp clothes over the fire. He moved her close enough to the fire that he hoped it would help her regain heat into her hypothermic body. He was shivering herself and could only imagine how cold this girl was, since she was smaller than him. He pulled her towards himself.

"Conserving body heat," he told himself.

He watched Leslia breath until drifting off to sleep.

Leslia awoke half an hour after Draco fell asleep. The storm was over, and she was disoriented. "How am I still alive?" She wondered. Feeling someone's arms wrapped loosely around her body, she turned her head upwards to see her rescuer's face. She glanced sleepily up at Draco's sleeping face. It took a few seconds for it to register that he was wearing minimal amounts of clothing. Blushing, she tried to wriggle out of his grip, but when she moved, he mumbled something in his sleep and tightened his arms. After a moment, she gave up and nestled into his chest. It was a very nice chest. Plus, he was warm. Body heat was essential to warding off hypothermia. Her fingertips were still tinged blue, she noticed, and her lips were still numb. She rested her face on his shoulder.

It appeared he'd started a fire; the wood had nearly been burned completely away and the fire was reduced to glowing embers. The only reason she was as warm as she was now, was because she fit perfectly on Draco's body. Her head came to just above his shoulder.

"Why did I never notice how tall he was before?" She wondered. Draco muttered something else. Leslia put her ear close to his mouth to hear what he was saying in his dream state.

"Quit it…You're making me…worry…about you…stupid little spy…putting yourself in…danger. I…you…idiot."

About to push him away for calling her stupid, Draco rolled over onto her; trapping her beneath him. His shoulder pressed into her chest almost painfully and his leg trapped hers to the cave floor. He was breathing deeply next to her ear, so far asleep it would've been adorable if he hadn't been causing her pain.

She used her free arm to whack at his head. He woke suddenly and clunked heads with her, causing her to reel back in pain. Holding her nose, she glared at him.

He stared unseeingly at her for a moment before tackling her in a hug.

"Thank God. I thought you were dead, or close to. How do you feel? How's your back? Are you still cold?" He kept babbling until Leslia held up a hand and peeled him off of her.

She stuck her hand into her pocket and searched for her stick, hitting the cave wall when she remembered dropping her only form of communication in Pansy's room. About to repeat the gesture, Draco caught her hand.

"Hey, none of that. You can write in the dirt, right?"

She brightened considerably at the thought. Breaking off a stalactite, she stabbed it into the ground to write to him. "Why'd you save me? You have no ties to me. I'm not someone you've known long enough to be close to you."

"Well, maybe because it's the right thing to do? I figure, you tried to save Hermione when you'd only just met her; so I assume you deserve the same. Right?"

Leslia shrugged.

"Either way, you're still blue. Come here." He opened his arms invitingly.

She glanced at his well-muscled chest and away, becoming shyer by the minute.

Draco raised an eyebrow and frowned at her. Then he realized something, "You haven't seen a guy shirtless before, have you?"

"Guys aren't exactly common at Beauxbatons, no."

"Especially fine specimen like myself, I suppose."

She glared at him, making him laugh.

"Just come here, before you freeze. We have to wait out the storm, anyways. And you're shivering. Get over your pride and get over here." He settled down, tugging Leslia with him. She resisted momentarily then relented. Her coldness was more important than her not being used to shirtless guys. She fought five full fledged wizards, for blimey's sake! One shirtless guy shouldn't have the power to scare her. She sank back, her body enwrapped in Draco's.

"You know I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't cold, right?" She wrote.

"Of course, darling. You're the little spy, and spys have pride."

"You're mocking me."

"Who, me?" He feigned innocence.

She responded by sticking her cold nose on his chest, making him jump.

"Gah!" He grabbed her nose between his fingers. "How do you have feeling in that thing? It's like ice!"

She smiled and curled up in his lap. "Payback," she scrawled lazily into the soil.

He growled at her and squeezed her a little tighter. "You might have more respect for your rescuer," he muttered.

"You're right." She kissed him sweetly on the cheek. "Thank you."

As soon as her head was down again and she was sleeping peacefully, Draco turned red and rubbed his cheek.

"I hope we get rescued soon. This girl doesn't know what she does to me."

When the search party found them, they were curled together like kittens. Ginny, Hermione, and Blaise were among the searchers, but it was Hagrid who found them. His roaring laughter woke them from their peaceful sleep, startling them awake. The first thing Leslia saw was Hermione's incredulous look of slight distaste, Ginny's pleased face, and Blaise's smirk.

Ginny and Hermione pulled Leslia out of Draco's arms since he still hadn't let go.

"So that's why you defend him," Hermione stated.

"Why didn't you tell me you two were going out?" Ginny squealed.

Leslia held up her hands in defence of the two girls words. About to write on the ground, she stopped when Draco started to speak.

"Honsetly, nothing was going on. She was cold, so we had to conserve heat."

"What about a fire?"

"I had only a little bit of dry wood, and that burned up."

"You had to comfort her shirtless?"

He sighed. "As much as someone like Pansy would have appreciated it, Leslia seemed to need to be convinced to stay next to me. I'm shirtless because staying in wet clothes can make hypothermia worse. Just be happy she's alive. A'ight?"

The rescuers seemed to be satisfied by this response. For a moment. Until Blaise noticed something.

"Hey, what's wrong with her back?"

Draco's eyes grew wide as he cursed. "I forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Can't you feel it?"

She shook her head.

"Either she's still numb from the cold, or she's in too much shock to feel it. Honey," Hermione spoke to her while lifting up the few shreds of the back of her cami. "Your back, it's…Completely shredded. Did you hit something in the water?"

"No, Pan-" Draco tried to cut in.

"Yes, yes, I hit a boulder. It was sharp." She gave Draco a fierce look, mentally willing him to shut up. "I shouldn't have been leaning out so far of a broken window. Next time I'll know not to. I'm sorry to cause problems for everyone."

"That really needs to get bandaged up; you're losing too much blood!" Hermione worried.

"It's fine, I didn't even feel it…I still don't. I'm too cold."  
>"Cold or not, it's still messy and dangerous to lose blood like that. We'll take you to the infirmary," Blaise picked her up and Draco remained surprisingly silent. Maybe he was tired from playing hero.<p>

"We're just happy you're alive, missy!" Hagrid said in his gravelly voice.

"Yeah, you klutz. No more window diving for you! Especially during a storm." Ginny smiled.

"You'll get no protest from me. I hate swimming."

"You hate it, or you just can't swim?" Blaise questioned.

"…Both?" Everyone laughed. Leslia breathed a sigh of relief.

She knew that if Pansy got expelled for her actions, it would merely make her hate Leslia more and she'd learn nothing about not picking on people. Maybe if she learned of Leslia's compassion, she'd be more apt to respect her and her friends, although maybe that last bit was too much to expect.

Hagrid pointed to a shoe hidden in some reeds. "All right, everyone grab the portkey. We're heading 'ome."

Blaise helped her to the shoe, with Draco close behind. Draco's hand lightly squeezed hers as he stood next to her. She glanced up at him and he smiled. Her heart skipped a beat and she looked back at the shoe. He was her hero, and her friend. She didn't want to like him. She shouldn't get involved. It'd be disobeying the Professor's direct order. Unfortunately, some orders can't be followed.


End file.
